In February of this year, I bought myself a Dymo LabelManager 420P because the price point was great for the feature set (can be hooked to a computer, rechargeable battery, barcodes). One of the big reasons I purchased it was because my ancient Dymo LabelPoint 100 ((which I received for free from Dymo for purchasing a LabelWriter 330 ages ago)) was printing crappy labels ((more on this later)), and chewed through batteries (it takes 6 AAA batteries). I purchased the unit off Amazon marketplace for a steal ($55), and received it a few days later.
The unit is a bit large, but the screen is very readable (backlit), and the keys easy to use (though, they’re in alphabetical order rather than QWERTY. I don’t mind this (since I type in Dvorak), some do). The battery meter, however, is extremely inaccurate. A full charge results in the meter fluctuating between half and full, and it stays this way for some time. I don’t know if the battery is faulty, or if it’s the unit. I really need to email them about this.
Printing is fast, and changing the labels easy. Much like most labelers, it tends to waste a lot of tape at the start and end of the label, so you’re generally best off (if doing multiples), writing a label, putting a few spaces, then another label, etc. Then manually cut them up at the end.
Dymo tape is always easy to peal the back off of (it’s split down the middle), but as I found out, the new unit printed similarly crappy on the label tape I’d been using. Doing some reading online, it seems that the tape doesn’t last forever, and printing problems are usually due to bad tape. I ordered a replacement cartridge, and viola, it prints great. So I’m guessing my old LP100 would have worked just fine with new tape (but, I do like the new model much better). Aside from the battery meter ((I say meter, because the battery seems to last a while, its charge just isn’t accurately represented)), and the occasionally confusing interface, I really like the unit.
[xrr rating=4/5]
